Disease relevance of n-Octacosanol

• Octacosanol in parkinsonism [1].
• Trial of octacosanol in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis [2].

High impact information on n-Octacosanol

• Previous results have demonstrated that policosanol, a mixture of aliphatic primary alcohols isolated and purified from sugar cane wax, whose main component is octacosanol, inhibited lipid peroxidation in experimental models and human beings [3].
• Though the activity of hormone-sensitive lipase (EC 3.1.1.3) was not influenced by octacosanol, higher activities of lipoprotein lipase (EC 3.1.1.34) in the perirenal adipose tissue and the total oxidation rate of fatty acid in muscle were observed [4].
• Octacosanol affects lipid metabolism in rats fed on a high-fat diet [4].
• Absorption of octacosanol is very low and mainly excreted through feces [5].
• For corroborating the presence of octacosanol and octacosanoic acid, samples were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) [6].

Biological context of n-Octacosanol

• The results indicate that octacosanol possesses an adipokinetic activity, which might affect the lipolysis process of muscle [7].

Anatomical context of n-Octacosanol

• After 14C-octacosanol administered, radioactivity of octacosanol was mainly found in adipose tissue, especially in brown adipose tissue [5].
• RESULTS: When fibroblasts were cultured in presence of (3)H-octacosanol, three spots were found: a first one corresponded to octacosanoic acid, a second to octacosanol and a third one remained unidentified [6].
• Although the exact mechanism of increase in physical exercise caused by octacosanol is not known, it is possible that octacosanol increases the mobilization of free fatty acids from fat cells within muscle [7].

Associations of n-Octacosanol with other chemical compounds

• Other substances touted as having ergogenic properties are carnitine, cobamamide, growth hormone releasers, octacosanol, and ginseng; again, there is no reliable scientific evidence to support claims that products containing these compounds have ergogenic potential, and heavy supplementation may lead to adverse effects [8].

Analytical, diagnostic and therapeutic context of n-Octacosanol

• Octacosanol was tried in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover design [2].
• The re-crystallisation of the natural wax mixture and the pure octacosan-1-ol were studied by scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) [9].
• Analytical procedure for the determination of 1-octacosanol in plasma by solvent extraction and capillary gas chromatography [10].
• Thirty sedentary healthy students were tested before and after treatment (3.6 mg/die for 7 days) with orally administered tablets of placebo (group A), isopolicosanol (B) and octacosanol (C) [11].
• Male Sprague-Dawley rats were randomly assigned to one of three groups - sedentary control group (SC), exercise-trained control group (EC), and exercise-trained, octacosanol-supplemented group (EO) - and raised on either control or octacosanol (0.75%)-supplemented diet with (or without for SC rats) exercise-training for 4 weeks [12].

References